Follow the author of this article

Follow the topics within this article

The British love affair with gin shows no sign of cooling off: according to figures from the Wine And Spirits Trade Association’s end of the year report, 66 million bottles of gin were sold in the UK in the last recorded 12 months, 41 per cent more than the preceding 12 months, taking total UK sales to £1.9bn.

The 2018 summer heatwave was a huge factor in this with the equivalent of 28 million bottles sold, more than the summers of 2014 and 2015 combined.

England now has more distilleries than Scotland thanks to the boom in craft gins, with 166 compared to Scotland's 160. Of the 54 new distilleries opened in 2018, England had 39, with 11 in Scotland, and two each in Wales and Northern Ireland.

Gin has evolved over the years with an increasing focus on premium and flavoured gins; the WSTA’s data reveals that flavoured gin has driven over half of all gin growth, particularly pink gins.

Of course, industry analysis can only reveal so much. To find out how gin fans are drinking in their own homes, The Craft Gin Club, a gin-based subscription box service quizzed 600,000 gin aficionados via social media accounts and a physical survey to members.

The research found that gin lovers have between five and six bottles of the spirit on their shelves at any one time. They’re also embracing the art of the serve: 90pc say they actively experiment with different garnishes to create the perfect cocktail.

That has led to increased confidence in making gin and tonic at home. Three quarters of those surveyed believe that they make a better G&T at home than they could get in a bar.

Hot gins for winter

Hot gins will emerge in the early months of 2019. Clementine Beach, Craft Gin Club’s resident expert and gin taster, said: "We’ve also seen a massive increase in hot gin serves and the availability of gins spiced with flavours such as cinnamon, clove and nutmeg."

“One of the key emerging gin trends is seasonality. Gin is considered a quintessential summer drink, but our data shows a spike in uptake around Christmas."

Portobello Road Gin’s director of liquid development, Jake Burger says: “As an industry we are going to have to do a few things. Firstly, accept that there is huge demand for them and maybe be a little less snooty about them, secondly come up with a proper name for that category, and thirdly look at regulating that category a bit.

“There are some which are basically vintage sweet flavoured liqueurs which have virtually no juniper character at all. I think without some kind of clarification about what should and shouldn’t be able to call itself a gin, a gin liqueur or just a liqueur, we run the risk of confusing the consumer which is never a good thing.”

Free-from, locally grown

The gin world will react to ecological concerns: Heeley suggests "gluten-free, vegan, and minimum wastage,” will become more important in 2019. Meawhile, Daniel Warren, GB World Class Bartender of the Year, believes provenance and local ingredients will come to the fore: “We’re seeing traceable flavours and ingredients that work wonderfully with fresh ingredients and herbs that we can find in our own gardens.”

New glassware

Could we also be on the cusp of a revolution in the way we serve gin? Both Burger and Jack Sotti, World Class and Tanqueray Ambassador, mentioned that big balloon gin glasses could be on their way out. The latter commented: “I truly feel like the Copa glass has reached mass saturation. Now the top 5 per cent of bars are slowly moving back to highballs to offer a point of difference from the local pub.”